Archive for March, 2010
From Diana Saenger
about.com
“The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox” (1976) offers comedy set in a Western era, as well as a change for George Segal or Goldie Hawn fans to laugh and laugh in this misadventure about gambling, romance and what it was like for “some” of the ladies who worked the salons during the Gold Rush days of 1800s in San Francisco. Rife with humor and almost a slapstick comedy, the film is more representative of the classic film era than the 1970s.
Amanda Quaid (Hawn) is a saloon hall dancer who must get really friendly with the patrons if she intends to make enough to eat and survive. In other words, she’s a hustler. When Charlie ‘Dirtwater Fox’ Malloy (Segal), a real card shark, comes in for a drink, he’s attracted to Amanda, although he shows it in an annoying way, almost ridiculing her. Offended Amanda goes for another rude patron, even though she had her eye on Charlie all along.
When he returns the next day Charlie and Amanda connect and she follows him to his room. While Charlie expects a good time, Amanda moves into normal routine – spike her client’s drink, fleece his wallet and leave before he wakes up. But when Amanda goes looking for his wallet, she can’t find it. She does find a doctor’s bag with a few bills inside and walks off with the entire bag.
Meanwhile Amanda is looking for a way out of town and her life. When she overhears that a Moran family has just landed in town and needs a nanny – Amanda decides she’s up for the job. Using some of her new found stash, she trades in her sexy saloon wardrobe for more appropriate clothes and presents herself to the Josiah Widdicombe (Thayer David), the Mormon patriarch, as Duchess Swansbury.
The Dutchess has to audition for the job along with other women. Lacking any real educational skills that might convince Josiah that she’s capable of the job, she proceeds to entertain the children with a song she sang on stage, changing some of the sexual and provocative words to more appropriate ones for the kids. This is a very funny scene and Hawn plays it to the hilt. She earns the job, then realizes when Josiah comes onto her, that he expects her to added to his long list of wives.
Charlie finds Amanda just in time as he’s running from some hombres who are looking for him. It seems Charlie’s trick of a card up the sleeve is too well known and the men who lost their dough want it back. Charlie and Amanda hide out in the wedding party of a Jewish couple, and each must go through a series of Jewish rituals before they escape. Well- actually Amanda escapes in Josiah’s wagon, hiding the black bag full of cash, but Charlie is in hot pursuit on a horse.
The rest of the film is one mad-cap adventure as the two chase, find and runaway from each other again. They both go through some hilarious scenarios. Had not Hawn and Segal starred in the lead roles, the film might never have been as funny.
The writing by director Melvin (from a story by Barry Sandler), is brilliant; it’s sophisticated, funny and practical. The back and forth banter between Hawn and Segal is tops and they deliver each line as if was written just for them. Hawn is just too cute! Her infectious smile makes anyone overlook her illegal pursuits, and her beauty makes it easy to believe she could captivate anyone from card sharks to Morman patriarchs.
George Segal is a fantastic actor who immerses himself in the role Charlie both emotionally and physically. Credit goes to both actors in that realm as there were many physical actions required in the movie, and also to director Melvin Frank who managed to convey a lot in a broad scoped film.
Despite a somewhat unsatisfactory ending, “The Duchess and the Dirtwater Fox” does exactly what it intends to do and what so many films fail to – entertain.
Director: Melvin Frank
Writer: Barry Sandler (story) Melvin Frank (screenplay)
Run Time: 103 minutes
Rated: R
Although there are basic digital cameras, there are also high end ones that would allow more creativity on the part of the photographer. Basic point and shoot cameras would perform quite well for people who are not too eager to adjust the settings. A basic digital camera would always be set on auto mode. In auto mode, the shooting environment would be assessed by the camera and adjust the settings as required. A notch higher than the basic ones, there are also models that have more creative zones.
Creative zones available in a digital camera would vary. The usual modes would include aperture priority and shutter speed priority. Aperture adjusts the opening where the light passes through. The shutter speed is used in manipulating motion in the shot. To freeze action, the digital camera has to have a high shutter speed. It should be at least 1/500 to make sure that no blurring would occur. On the other hand, if people still want to have some movement in the photo, the shutter speed can be slower. Such setting would be perfect for water landscapes. Mostly people struggle with available light. High shutter speeds will not be possible without strong light. At the same time, slow shutter speeds would only be possible with the use of a tripod.
Other modes available in a digital camera would be simpler to follow. Usually, the dial would have icons that are easy to understand. For instance, portrait mode would have a person icon. In this mode, the color of the skin is made lighter. The background is also kept in a blur to put emphasis on the subject. The landscape mode would make use of the widest angle possible. The contrast is also automatically adjusted and the color green is made more vivid. The night mode feature in a digital camera will not be as easy to use. One is a night portrait and the other is night landscape. Both would yield to better photos if a tripod is used. In the case of night portrait, the flash can also be fired. A digital camera with creative zones can still be set on auto. However, if the owner have no intention of using any of the modes from the creative zone, basic point and shoot cameras would be more practical. Those who still have difficulty in choosing between the two can consider other features. For example, there are s
ettings that turn a photo into black and white or a two-tone sepia. There are also color accent features that would allow the photographer to choose a hue that would stand out against a monochromatic scheme.
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